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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


1981 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


wm 


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^ 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


D 


D 


D 


□ 


D 


Couverture  endommagee 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

V 

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□ 

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Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
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n 


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dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diaqrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

COMMERCIAL  UNiON  DOCUMENT  No.  9. 


fHE   PERFECT 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  CANADA, 


IS   IT 


Inconsistent  with  British  Welfare! 


Speech  of  Erastus  Wiman, 


AT    ST.    THOMAS,    ONTARIO,    DECEMBER    3,    1887, 


•  ♦•- 


"  Tt  prohibit  a  great  people  from  making  ail  ihiy  can  of  every  part  of  their  own  produce^ 
"  or  from  employing  their  stock  and  industry  in  Hie  way  that  they  may  consider  most  advau' 
"tageous  to  themselves,  h  a  manifest  violation  of  the  most  sacred  rights  of  mankind."— 
Adam  Smith. 


#♦> 


NEW  YOEK: 
EEASTU8   WIMAN,    314  BEOADWAY. 


\  Ko 


/ 


THE    PERFECT 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  CANADA, 


IS    IT 


Inconsistent  with  British  Welfare? 


Speech  of  Erastus  Wiman, 


AT    ST.   THOMAS,    ONTARIO,    DECEMBER    3,    i887. 


-♦♦-♦- 


••  r#  prohibit  a  great  people  from  making  all  they  can  of  every  part  of  their  own  produce, 
"or  from  employing  their  stock  and  industry  in  the  way  that  they  may  consider  most  advati. 
*'tageous  to  themselves,  is  a  manifest  violation  of  the  most  sacred  rights  of  mankind."— 
Adam  Smith. 


-♦♦♦- 


NEW   YORK: 


ERASTUS   WIMAN,    314   BROADWAY. 


.■>„•.>. 


f  .'  f. 


V      ■        -f 


THE    PERFECT 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  CANADA, 


IS    IT 


INCONSISTENT  WITH  BRITISH  WELFARE? 


At  a  meeting  to  discuss  Commercial  Union  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  held  at  St.  Thomas,  Ontario,  on  Saturday 
evening,  December  3rd,  in  the  course  of  his  speech, 

Mr.  Erastus  Wiman  said  that  he  appeared  before  a  Canadian 
audience  for  the  first  time  since  the  allusions  to  Commercial  Union 
had  been  made  in  speeches  by  the  Right  Honorable  Joseph 
Chamberlain,  who,  as  they  were  all  aware,  was  the  special  repre- 
sentative of  the  British  G'  vernment,  on  the  Fisheries  Commission 
now  deliberating  at  Washington.  It  was  tru-;  that  in  the  speeches 
referred  to,  Mr.  Chamberlain  was  speaking  as  a  private  individual, 
and  that  his  utterances  need  not  be  clothed  with  any  authority 
greater  than  that  which  should  be  a'tached  to  the  utterance  of  any 
Intelligent  gentleman,  representing  the  manufacturing  districts  of 
England.  But  Mr  Chamberlain  was  a  very  distinguished  man  ; 
at  the  time  he  gave  expression  to  the  news  referred  to  he  was  about 
to  assume  the  very  grave  duty  of  endeavoring  *rt  settle  a  long 
standing  difference  bet^veen  Canada  and  the  United  States  ;  and 
and  what  he  had  to  say  in  relation  to  the  latter  country  had  mor^ 
than  the  usual. significance.     And  this  is  what  he  did  say  :— -  v-ii.?:' 


t< 


The  arrangement  between  the  colonies  and  Great  Britain  is 
"  essential  y  a  temporary  one.  It  cannot  remain  as  it  is  ...  , 
"  Already  you  have  in  Canada — the  greatest  of  all  the  colonies — 
"  an  agitation  for  what  is  called  Commercial  Union  with  the 
"  United  States.  Commercial  Union  with  the  United  States  means 
"  free  trade  between  America  and  the  Dominion,  and  a  protective 
"  tariff  against  the  mother  country.  If  Canada  desires  that>  Canada 
"can  have  it"         . 


COMMERCIAL  UNION  WITH  CANADA. 


f  i. 


On  a  subsequent  occasion,  the  right  honorable  gentleman  further 
said,  that  : 

"  Commercial  Union  with  the  United  States  meant  that  Canada 
was  to  give  preference  to  every  article  of  manufacture  from  the 
United  States  over  the  manufactures  from  Great  Britain.  If  the 
people  of  Canada  desired  an  arrangement  of  that  kind,  he  did 
rot  doubt  that  they  would  be  able  to  secure  it.  He  did  not 
think  anybody  in  England  would  prevt-nt  such  an  arrangement 
by  force  ;  but  he  remarked  that  in  that  case  all  the  advantages 
of  the  slerider  tie  that  bound  Canada  to  England  would  disippear, 
so  far  as  England  was  concerned  ;  and  it  was  not  likely  that  the 
people  of  Great  Britain  would  continue  much  longer  to  sustain 
the  obligations  and  responsibilities  of  a  relationship,  all  the 
reciprocal  b::nefiis  of  which  had  been  withdrawn." 

7'he  foregoing  extracts  implied  that  a  persistence  in  the  advocacy 
of  Commercial  Union,  and  success  in  achieving  it,  meant  that  it 
would  be  so  inconsistent  with  British  welfare,  that  the  relation  which 
existed  between  the  Mother  Country  and  Canada  must  cease. 
The  advocates  of  Commercial  Union  were  therefore  put  in  a  posi- 
tion hostile  to  British  connection,  unless  they  could  show  that 
British  welfare  was  not  likely  to  be  seriously  injured  by  the 
success  of  a  trade  union  between  the  United  Statts  and  Canada  ; 
and  also  wheih -r  interests  in  Canada  were  not  juat  as  important  to 
the  British  government  and  the  British  people,  as  those  interests 
which  it  is  claimed  would  be  adversely  affected  in  Great  Britain 
itself.  Mr.  Wiman  said  he  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  discuss 
the  question,  as  to  whether  the  most  perfect  development  of  Canada 
was  ^consistent  with  British  welfare.  It  was  impossible  to  con- 
ceive of  any  combination  of  circumstances  which  would  contribute 
in  a  greater  degree  to  this  most  perfect  development,  than  that  of 
breaking  down  all  the  barriers  to  commerce  between  Canada  and 
the  United  States  ;  and  they  were  therefore  to  consider  whether 
British  welfare  were  likely  to  be  seriously  or  permanently  injured 
thereby,  should  this  be  consummated. 

Mr.  Wiman,  continuing,  said  that  two  great  facts  must  always  be 
present  in  considering  the  future  of  Canada — one  was  her  highly 
advantageous  geographical  position,  and  the  other  was  the  poten- 
tiality of  her  productive  powers  and  the  enormous  value  of  her 
natural  resources.  These  two  great  advantages  were  assets  in  the 
inheritance  of  every  Canadian,  and  of  every  resident  of  Canada. 


IS  IT  I^iCON^'ISTEXT  WITH  BRITlSTt  WELFARE t 


They  were  as  much  his  personal  possession  as  the  legacy  left  him 
by  parents,  or  the  accumulations  which  his  own  efforts  had  enabled 
him  to  lay  by.  Nay,  the  propery  possessed  in  the  geographical 
and  resourceful  advantages  of  Canada  was  even  a  more  sacred 
possession  than  that  of  money  either  inherited  or  earned.  It  was 
a  trust  with  which  Providence,  in  its  divine  foresight,  had  endowed 
every  inhabitant  o^  Canada,  not  only  for  himself  but  for  his 
children's  children — a  trust  for  which  his  responsibility  was  just  as 
clear  as  for  any  other  blessing  for  the  use  of  which  he  had  to  give 
an  account.  The  Parable  of  the  talents  left  by  the  Master  is  as 
applicable  to  the  possession  of  nationa  advantages  unimproved,  as 
for  personal  blessings  which  every  night  and  morning  we  invoke  a 
divine  guidance  to  use  properly  and  beneficially.  It  is  well  to 
consider  whether,  up  to  this  period,  there  has  been  the  fullest  an(F 
largest  use  made  of  the  vast  riches  with  which  this  Canada  of  ours 
is  endowed.  On  the  contrary,  may  we  not  consider  whether,  up  to 
this  time,  the  smallest  development,  in  proportion  to  our  riches, 
has  not  been  achieved.  It  is  true  that  plans  of  the  most  compre- 
hensive character  for  this  development  have  been  made,  in  public 
expenditure  and  the  construction  of  means  of  communication.  It 
may  well  be  a  subject  of  congratulation,  that  the  foundations  of  a 
great  future  have  been  laid  deep  and  broad  ;  and  the  highest 
praise  should  be  awarded  to  the  statesmanship,  energy,  and  patriot- 
ism, that  had  opened  up  vast  stretches  of  mo->t  productive  territory 
to  settlement,  and  great  regions  of  mineral  lands  to  the  possibility 
of  development.  But  now  that  these  facilities  are  afforded,  are  the 
existing  conditions  favorable  to  the  progress  whicn  should  follow 
their  creation?  Was  the  North-west  likely  to  settle  up  as  rapidly  as 
it  would  if  the  emigration  now  pouring  into  the  United  States 
could  be  diverted  in  that  direction  under  the  influence  of  Commer- 
cial Union,  Was  it  likely  that  the  mineral  regions  rendered  ac- 
cessible on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior  would  be  developed  as 
fully,  as  if  a  near  bv  market  were  afforded  for  these  products. 
Was  it  not  a  fact  that,  in  proportion  to  the  productive  forces  of 
one-half  of  the  continent,  and  in  comparison  with  the  growth  and 
progress  of  the  great  nation  on  the  south  of  Canada,  the  question 
may  well  be  asked,  has  the  most  been  made,  up  to  this  period,  of 
the  advantages  with  which  a  divine  Providence  has  endowed  the 
Dominion?     Recalling  the  relative  progress  made  in   the  last  one 


t  COMMERCIAL  UNION  WITH  CANADA. 

hundred  jears,  of  Canada  on  the  one  hand,  controlling  the  best 
half  of  the  continent,  and  of  the  United  States  on  the  other,  there 
is  food  for  reflection  in  the  simple  statement  that  while  Canada 
barely  retains  a  population  of  5  millions,  the  United  States  are 
rapidly  approaching  a  population  of  65  millions.  In  every  other 
comparison,  of  growth  of  wealth,  of  development  of  resources,  of 
activity  in  manufacturing  and  the  employment  of  all  the  forces  of 
civilization,  the  United  States  stands  to-day,  the  wonder  of  the 
world. 

.  Why  Canada  should  not  occupy  a  relative  position  in  all  that  goes 
to  make  up  the  greatness  of  a  nation,  is  a  question  which  every  Cana- 
dian is  bound  to  consider.  It  is  not  because  Canada  has  not  even 
a  greater  area  of  territory  ;  that  she  has  not  a  free  government  ; 
that  she  has  not  liberal  institutions,  and  is  not  possessed  of  the  most 
marvellous  resources.  To  some  other  caus.e  must  be  attributed 
the  comparatively  slow  progress  by  which  Canada,  to-day,  is  com- 
pared with  any  single  State  of  the  Union  ;  while  the  proper  com- 
parison, had  she  made  a  relative  progress,  would  be  to  compare  her 
to  the  Union  itself. 


THE    DUTY    OF    EVERY    LOVER    OF    HIS   COUNTRY. 

Under  such  circumstances,  is  it  not  the  duty  of  every  lover  of 
his  native  country — of  every  sincere  and  thinking  man — to  stop  a 
moment,  and  fairly  consider  the  circumstances  of  our  native  land, 
and  inquire  whether  the  present  is  not  a  moment  pregnant  with  the 
most  golden  opportunities  for  a  momentous  development  of  our 
best  treasures  ?  Should  not  every  man,  irrespective  of  prejudice 
or  of  trivial  ties  of  party,  think  for  himself  how  best  he  can  pro- 
mote the  development  of  his  native  land,  aid  most  early  accom- 
plish the  purpose  of  its  high  destiny  ?  We  are  the  inheritors  of  the 
best  part  of  the  continent  of  North  America,  which,  as  Emerson 
j.ays,  "  is  another  name  of  Opportunity.  Its  whole  history  appears 
**  like  a  last  effort  of  the  divine  Providence  in  behalf  of  the 
"human  race."  Let  us  address  ourselves  to  the  inquiry,  whether 
there  is  not  in  the  immediate  future  a  better  prospect  of  making 
the  most  of  the  inheritance  which  this  Providence  has  bequeathed 
to  us,  and  whether  the  opportunity  of  which  North  America  is  the 
name,  is  not  now  with  us  to  a  degree  never  before  quite  so  palpable, 
and  never  hereafter  likely  to  be  quite  so  available  now. 


JS  IT  INCONSISTENT  WITH  BRITISH  WELFARE  f 


WOULD    BRITISH    INTERESTS    BE    INJURED  ? 

In  the  discussion  of  the  question  of  Commercial  Union  between 
the  Uniied  States  and  Canada,  there  has  been  urged  as  an  objec- 
tion that  in  the  consummation  of  this  proposal  British  interests 
would  be  sacrificed  ;  and  the  question  now  before  a  large  number 
of  the  best  people  of  Canada  was,  whether  the  perfect  development 
of  Canada  was  inconsistent  with  British  interests  ?  It  was  clear 
that  Commercial  Union  with  the  United  States  would  solve  a  great 
many  problems,  and  by  bringing  all  the  resources  of  the  northern 
half  of  the  continent  within  easy  access  of  the  energy,  the  capital 
ai  d  the  enterprise  of  the  American  people,  a  development  might 
be  expected  similar  to  that  which  had  occurred  within  the  United 
States  themselves.  The  opening  of  a  market  such  as  the  United 
States  afforded,  would,  it  was  believed,  stimulate  the  growtn  of  every 
article  which  Canada  could  with  advantage  produce  ;  the  produc- 
tive forces,  therefore,  of  her  agricultural  community  might  be 
enormously  increased  ;  while  her  manufactures,  with  the  abundant 
opportunity  of  natural  raw  material,  cheap  labor,  and  a  wide  market, 
would  in  a  very  short  time  become  of  great  importance,  so  that,  not 
only  in  natural  resources,  but  in  agricultural  products  and  in  man- 
ufacturing activity,  there  was  the  promise  of  a  great  and  most 
beneficial  change,  should  Commercial  Union  be  consummated.  In 
order,  however,  that  the  bargain  between  the  United  States  and 
Canada  for  the  freest  intercourse  could  be  brought  about  it  was 
necessary  that  the  natural  products,  merchandise  and  ni  nufac- 
tures   of   both   countries  should  be   freely  interchanged,  w    'lOut 

•  duty.  This  was  but  a  natural  condition  precedent  to  Commc  cial 
Union.  Its  operation  would,  therefore,  result  in  a  discrimination 
against   the    manufactures   and    merchandise  of    Great    Britain. 

,  Not  that  duties  exacted  upon  goods  imported  from  England  would 
be  much  higher  for  any  length  of  lime  than  they   now   are  ;  or 

;  that  the  barriers  that  now  shut  out  from  this  country  the  products 
of  the  Empire  of  which  we  form  a  part  would  be  permanently 
higher  than  they  are  now.  But  the  difference  would  be  that,  while 
products  of  the  United  States  now  pay  a  similar  duty  to  that  of 
England,  under  Commercial  Union  no  duty  would  b*?  exacted. 
The  question  is,  whether  for  the  vast  advantage  which  Canada  can 
secure  by  the  freest  commercial  intercourse  with  her  great  neighbor 
on  the  south,  she  is  prepared  to  admit  the  products  of  that  land 


8 


COMMERCIAL  UNION  WITH  CANADA.     ,    . 


into  her  markets  free,  while  she  exacts  a  high  rate  of  duty  against 
products  of  the  British  Empire  of  which  she  forms  a  part,  and  intO' 
whose  market  she  has  the  freest  access  ?  Th*^  question  is  a  very 
serious  one,  and  it  is  well  that  we  should  assemble  to  discuss  it 
calmly  and  dispassionately.  ,, 

Canada's  geographical  advantage.    ' 

Of  the  two  great  advantage?  which  Canada  possesses,  in  her 
geographical  position  on  the  one  hand,  and  her  vast  natural 
resources  on  the  other,  the  first  named  is  necessarily  most  impor- 
tant because  of  her  close  contiguity  with  the  best  market  in  the 
world  ;  and  this  makes  it  all  the  more  serious  in  considering  this 
question  of  our  relations  with  Great  Britain.  Stretching  along  a 
distance  of  almost  four  thousand  miles,  the  Dominion)  touches  aiid 
interlaces  with  the  gi^at  American  Republic.  Nature  seems  to 
have  ordaii»ed  that  the  whole  Continent  should  be  one  commer- 
cially, judging  by  the  distribution  of  natural  wealth,  of  agricultural 
peculiarities,  and  of  productive  forces.  To  separate  by  a  customs 
line  right  through  the  centre  of  the  Continent  the  two  English 
speaking  nations  that  occupy  it,  would  seem  to  be  a  most  injudi- 
cious act.  If  trade  can  ebb  and  flow  backwards  and  forwards 
from  one  end  of  the  Cc-itinent  to  the  other,  and  if  the  same  relative 
progress  could  be  made  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Continent  as- 
that  which  has  been  achieved  in  the  southern  part,  it  would 
seem  a  great  hardship  that  any  final  and  permanent  impediment 
in  sentiment  or  in  fact  should  be  crea*-ed.  The  growth  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  market  which  all  along  her  border  this- 
growth  affords,  is  one  of  the  best  assets  that  Canada  possesses. 
Even  in  the  face  of  a  high  tariff  and  numerous  restrictions,  more 
than  one-half  of  her  commerce  is  with  the  neighboring  Republic. 
With  all  barriers  removed,  and  a  complete  Commercial  Union 
consummated,  this  commerce  would  increase  enormously.  The 
question  is,  whether  this  increase  would  help  or  hurt  Great  Britain* 
It  is  well  to  consider  that,  so  far  as  Great  Britain  as  a  nation  is 
concerned,  nothing  could  happen  so  advantageously  to  her  as  a 
complete  Commercial  Union  between  the  English  speaking  people  of 
the  north  American  Continent.  But  in  speaking  of  the  trade  of 
Great  Britain,  the  consideration  has  to  be  removed  from  talking 
iiboul  ihe  government  and  the  people  of  that  country,  to  a  considera- 


\? 


IS  IT  INC02iSISTENT  WITH  BRITISH  WELFARE  f 


9 


V? 


tion  of  the  individual  interests  affected.  Thus,  while  we  import 
about  forty  millions  of  dollars  annually  of  goods  from  England,  it 
is  the  English  manufacturer  and  merchant  whose  interests  we  are 
promoting  or  injuring.  The«e  merchants  and  manufacturers  per* 
haps  aggregate  five  hundred  in  number  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
interests  of  these  gentlemen  and  their  operatives,  we  must  consider 
whether  or  not  the  future  of  this  Dominion  is  to  be  free  or 
restricted.  Upon  an  importation  of  forty  millions  of  dollars  per 
annum,  there  is  a  possible  profit  to  the  English  manufacturer  of 
ten  per  cent.,  or,  say,  four  millions  of  dollars.  Whether  for  this 
amount* of  profit  Canada  is  to  remain  forever  in  swaddling  clothes, 
is  a  question  for  the  people  of  Canada  to  consider. 

';  v'N-^'M    T     IS  CANADA  A  GROWING  MARKET?       s  "' 

It  is  claimed  the  interests,  even  of  English  manufacturers,  would 
not  be  permanently  adversely  affected  by  an  enlarged  trade  rela- 
tion between  Canada  and  the  United  States.  It  is  clear  enough 
to  the  close  observer  of  the  export  trade  of  Great  Britain  to  Canada, 
that  for  many  years  it  has  not  been  on  a  progressive  and  healthy 
basis.  There  has  been  but  a  slight,  if  any,  increase  in  the  exports 
to  Canada  ;  and  in  proportion  to  the  possible  growth  of  so  new  and 
so  rich  a  country,  the  commerce  in  the  direction  of  Canada  has  not 
increased  in  the  same  ratio  that  it  has  increased  to  other  countries. 
The  reason  in  the  first  place  has  been  that  the  policy  of  our  govern- 
ment has  been  towards  the  encouragement  of  home  manufactures, 
which  in  no  sense  was  regarded  as  disloyal  ;  while  the  power  to 
absorb  goods  and  pay  for  them  by  increased  p-^pulation,  and  by 
growth  in  natural  development,  has  been  extremely  limited.  Re- 
calling the  number  of  persons  engaged  in  Canada  in  handling  British 
goods,  their  relative  strength  financially,  and  the  growth  of  their 
distributive  channels,  is  it  not  a  fact  that  Canada  has  'nade  really 
less  progress  as  an  absorbent  of  English  manufactures  in  the  last 
t  ears,  than  any  market  which  Great  Britain  enters  ?  If,  after 
the  expenditure  of  vast  sums  of  borrowed  public  money  ceases  ;  if, 
in  view  of  the  enormous  taxation  which  Canada  has  to  bear  ;  if, 
also,  in  view  of  the  low  prices  of  agricultural  products,  and  the 
scanty  development  of  her  natural  resources  under  existing  con- 
ditions, Canada  makes  no  more  progress  in  the  next  ten  or  twenty 
years  as  an  absorbent  of  British  manufacturers,  as  a  market  she 
A 


',  "i'  ■  - 


COMMERCIAL  UNION  WITH  CANADA. 


will  possess  but  little  attraction.  Why,  it  already  takes  the  surplus 
of  the  entire  wheat  crop  of  old  Canada  to  pay  the  yearly  interest 
on  the  public,  railway,  and  mortgage  indebtedness  due  to  Great 
Britain.  What  hope  is  there  of  great  gain  in  the  country  when 
the  only  crop  that  can  be  marketed  in  England  is  absorbed  by  the 
interest  charge?  Hov/  is  it  possible  that  importations  can  be  ab- 
sorbed and  paid  for  profitably,  unless  the  market  for  other  products 
is  enlarged  and  made  free?  English  manufacturers,  if  they  knew 
the  whole  situation,  and  really  apprehended  their  own  interest, 
would  do  all  they  could  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  Canada. 
Recent  failures  of  importers  in  the  vicinity  indicated  the  necessity 
for  the  improved  conditions  which  alone  would  be  brought  about 

by  enlarged  markets  and  greater  ability  to  absorb  and  pay  for 
goods.  '  '■''•"■  '  '  -'T-:,  ■.•-■•;'::■■■;'■■  ;'-;-';.r-^' 

On  an  equal  basis  of  duty  exacted  from  Great  Britain  and  else- 
where, the  United  States  will  always  be  a  competitor  in  Canada  with 
Great  Britain  ;  while,  with  the  growth  of  home  manufactures,  and 
the  lack  of  development  within  the  Dominion  itself,  no  great  hope 
can  be  entertained  that  Canada,  without  some  new  relation  with 
the  United  States,  can  be  anything  like  the  advantageous  market 
which  she  otherwise  might  be,  with  Commercial  Union  and  an  open 
market  for  every  product  which  she  possesses.  With  enlarged 
opportunities  for  the  development  of  her  resources  ;  with  a  growth 
in  wealth  and  ability  to  absorb  and  pay  for  goods  which  Commer- 
cial Union  would  bring  to  her,  Canada  could  afford  to  buy  and  pay 
for  $2  of  English  goods  where  now  she  can  ill  afford  to  pay  for  $i. 
During  the  last  year  the  importations  of  foreign  goods  into  the 
United  States  amounted  to  720  millions  of  dollars,  which,  wi  h  a 
population  of  60  millions,  shows  that,  even  in  the  face  of  existing 
high  rates  of  duty  prevalent  in  the  United  States,  every  person  in 
the  Republic  was  worth  to  the  trade  of  foreign  countries  over  $12 
per  year.  In  Canad  we  imported  40  millions  of  dollars  from  Great 
Britain,  which, mad*  Canadians  worth  to  Great  Britain  about  $8  a 
head.  If  in  the  Uinied  States  $12  per  head  is  absorbed  of  foreign 
goods,  why  should  not  $12  in  Canada  be  the  standard  if.  with  the 
same  progress,  the  same  growth  in  wealth,  and  the  same  opportu- 
nity presented  for  a  development  of  natural  resources  ? 

It  is  true  that  temporarily  there  might  be  some  hardship  to 
-English  manufacturers  in  the  discrimination  against  them  in  favor 


IS  IT  INCONSISTENT  WITH  BRITISH  WELFARE  f 


11 


■■'i^':- 


'4^' 


of  American  goods,  but  in  the  long  run  the  advantage  would  still 
be  held  by  our  British  cousins.  This  certainly  would  be  the  case 
by  a  reduction  in  the  tariff  of  the  United  States,  which  is  sure  to 
follow  the  growth  of  the  enormous  surplus  which  the  revenues  of 
the  country  now  show  in  proportion  to  the  expenditures.  With 
the  reductitm  of  the  public  debt  in  the  United  States  to  a  minimum, 
the  cessation  of  interest  or  fixed  charges  which  this  implies,  the 
amount  required  for  the  Government  of  the  country  will  be  so 
small  that  the  tariff  is  sure  to  be  largely  reduced,  so  that  in  the 
event  of  Commercial  Union,  and  a  uniform  tariff  prevailing  between 
Canada  and  the  United  States  as  against  Great  Britain,  it  would  be 
a  barrier  so  slight  as  to  be  easily  overcome  by  the  advantages 
which  she  possesses  as  the  greatest  manufacturing  country  of  the 
world. 

It  is  singular  if  the  growth  of  one  part  of  the  Empire  of  Great 
'Britain,  which  includes  Canada,  should  be  injurious  to  the  trode  of 
another  part  of  it.  But  even  supposing  it  should  be,  is  one  part 
of  the  Empire  to  remain  forever  restricted  and  limited  for  the 
benef^,}:  of  a  few  persons  in  the  other?  Hear  what  was  said  on  this 
subject  by  the  greatest  writer  on  political  economy  that  England 
ever  produced — Adam  Smith  : 

"  To  prohibit  a  great  people  from  making  all  they  can  of  every 
"  part  of  their  own  produce,  or  from  employing  their  stock  and 
"  industry  in  the  way  that  they  may  consider  most  advantageous 
"  to  themselves,  is  a  manifest  violation  of  the  most  sacred  rights 
**  of  mankind.  "  : 


,' ) 


.r    IV   INTERESTS    OF    ENGLISH    INVESTORS. 

But,  aside  from  the  interests  of  English  manufacturers,  there  are 
other  classes  in  Great  Britain  to  whom  the  highest  prosperity  of 
Canada  would  be  of  the  greatest  advantage.  There  is  of  English 
capital  invested  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada  hardly  less  than  five 
hundred  millions  of  dollars.  This  money  is  invested  in  govern- 
mental indebtedness,  public  works,  railroad  undertakings,  farm 
mortgages,  and  a  variety  of  other  securities.  Every  one  of  this 
class  of  assets  possessed  by  English  capitalists  would  be  enormous- 
ly benefitted  by  the  full  development,  growth,  and  perfect  prosperity 
of  the  Dominion.  If  the  traffic  of  every  railroad  could  be  doubled; 
if  the  productive  force  of  every  factory  could  be  augmented  ;  if 


12 


COMMERCIAL  UlilON  WITH  CANADA. 


every  farm  could  be  forced  to  its  fullest  capacity  of  growth,  and 
every  resource  which  the  country  possessed  fully  developed^  there 
is  not  a  security  of  any  class  in  the  country  but  would  be  benefitted. 
Even  supposing  the  profits  of  the  English  manufacturer  should  be 
reduced  from  four  millions  per  annum  to  two  millions,  it  would 
pay  well  for  the  government  of  the  country  to  guarantee  them 
against  this  loss,  for  the  sake  of  b-nefitting  every  other  class  of  the 
community,  as  well  as  the  British  investor  in  Canadian  undertakings. 
Besides  this,  should  the  full  development  of  Canadian  enterprises 
follow  Commercial  Union,  an  opportunity  for  the  investment  of 
Engli-h  capital  in  this  country  would  be  afforded  such  its  the  world 
has  never  seen.  A  better  and  a  more  certain  return  cannot  be 
imagined  than  would  flow  from  the  establishment  of  manufactories, 
and  mneral  development  that  would  offer,  should  an  open  market 
be  found  in  the  TJnited  States  for  all  that  Canada  has  to  produce. 
The  emplo\ment  of  British  skilled  labor,  English  money,  and  En- 
glish experience  in  Canada,  with  such  an  opportunity  as  Commer- 
cial Union  would  afford,  would  create  such  a  revenue  for  the 
English  people  as  would  make  the  supposed  loss  of  the  English 
manufacturer  by  Commercial  Union  a  mere  bagatelle.  These 
considerations  are  urged  to  meet  the  objection  tha%  so  far  as 
English  interests  are  concerned,  Commercial  Union  witii  the 
United  States  would  be  beneficial  rather  than  hurtful. 

Mr.  Wtman  then  made  an  extended  reference  to  the  strained 
rel  itions  which,  certainly  would  continue  to  exist  between  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  unless,  ind  ed,  all  cause  for  irritation 
were  removed  by  a  union  of  commercial  intere  ts  In  the  language 
of  Mr.  Chambelain,  things  could  not  remam  as  they  are.  The 
conflict  of  interests  between  the  two  countries  was  illustrated  by 
the  tact  that  the  United  States  had  gone  the  length  of  passing 
unanimously  a  retaliatory  act,  which  any  day  might  be  enforced, 
but  which  would  be  simply  ruinous  to  the  interest  of  every  British 
investor  in  Canada.  Even  the  abolition  of  the  bonding  sy>tem,  by 
which  American  through  tiaffic  was  alone  possible  to  Canadian 
railways,  was  now  threatened,  because  of  the  operation  of  the  Inter- 
S'late  Commerce  Act,  and  which  under  Commercial  Union  might 
be  so  adjusted  as  to  be  continental.  The  fact  is  that  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  under  the  pressure  of  the  American  railroads, 
could  any  day  obliterate  the  bonding  system,  and  this  would  mean 


.    / 


'•.  '  J  i: 


IS  IT  INCONSISTENT  WITH  BRITISH  WELFARE? 


13 


bankruptcy  to  every  Canadian  railway,  rnd  bankruptcy  to  numerous 
interests  dependent  thereupon.  The  supposed  loss  of  the  "Znglish 
manufacturers  yearly  under  Commercial  Union,  -ven  at  its  worsts 
would  be  a  trifle  compared  wiih  the  loss  of  the  English  investor,  if 
even  the  simple  bonding  system  now  permitted  by  the  United 
States  were  abolished.  This  was  but  an  illustration  of  the  dangers 
to  which  British  capital  is  now  exposed,  and  which  under  Com- 
mercial Union  would  be  entirely  removed. 

^-    —  THE    PENALTY    OF    GEOGRAPHICAL    POSITION.    '^*-'    '    '^ 

The  speaker  said  he  had,  in  a  very  hurried  way,  endeavored  to 
show  that  the  interests  of  Great  Britain  would  not  permanently 
be  injured  by  Commercial  Union  between  Canada  and  the  United 
States.  It  was  true  that,  under  this  proposed  union,  the  manufac- 
tures of  the  United  States  would  have  free  admission  to  Canada, 
just  the  same  as  the  manufactures  of  Ontario  have  free  admission 
into  Manitoba.  It  was  true  that  English  manufacturers  would 
have  to  pay  a  duty,  as  they  now  have  to  do,  to  gain  admission  into 
Canada,  and  there  was  no  new  hardship  complained  of,  except  that 
the  manufactured  goods  of  the  United  States,  it  was  proposed,  should 
be  admitted  free  of  duty,  because  this  free  admission  was  the  price 
paid  by  Canada  for  the  free  admission  of  her  products  and  her 
manu''actures  mto  the  United  States.  It  was  the  penalty  of  the 
geographical  position  of  Canada  that,  unless  the  barriers  between  her 
neighbor  and  herself  were  thus  removed,  she  would  never  have  the 
perfect  development  to  which  she  was  entitled.  The  question  was 
a  difficult  one,  and  it  did  seem  hard  that,  after  all  Great  Britain 
had  done  for  Canada,  and  in  view  of  the  responsibilities  and  en- 
gagements which  she  continued  to  assume  for  her  defence  and  pro- 
tection, there  should  be  a  proprsition  seriously  discussed  where- 
by the  merchandise  of- a  rival  nation  should  have  free  admission  to 
one  part  of  her  Empire,  while  her  own  products  from  another  part 
of  the  same  Empire  were  shut  out  by  a  high  duty.  But,  so  far  as 
the  interests  o*^  Great  Britain  were  immediately  concerned  in  this 
matter,  the  question  had  become  one  of  mere  dollars  and  cents, 
and  not  a  question  of  dollars  and  cents  to  the  nation  at  large,  or  to 
the  government,  or  to  the  imperial  revenues  ;  but  a  question  of  dol- 
lars and  cents  to  individuals.  Now,  if  the  question  had  narrowed 
down  to  that  point,  was  it  not  fair  to  consider  whether  the  interests 


u 


COMMERCIAL  UNION  WITH  CANADA. 


5^\ 


'f  the  inh  abitants  of  one  part  of  Her  Majesty's  domain  were  not  just 
as  precious  to  her  as  the  interests  of  those  of  another.  It  has  always 
been  maintained  that  the  humblest  British  subject,  in  the  most  re- 
mote corner  of  the  earth,  was  entitlfd  lo  the  same  protection  as  the 
highest  dignitary  nearest  to  the  throne  ;  and  it  is  the  glory  of  the 
traditions  which  we  all  alike  inherit,  that  justice  to  all,  and  favor  to 
none,  is  the  spirit  that  animates  the  Goverment  of  Great  Britain. 
Well,  now,  is  it  fair  to  ask  Canadians  forever  to  sacrifice  their  most 
material  intereets  for  the  sake  of  the  manufacturers  of  Manchester 
or  Birmingham  ?  Has  not  Canada  the  same  right  to  have  her 
interests  cared  for  as  the  interests  of  the  manufacturers  of  these 
great  centres?  Indeed,  without  the  slightest  suspicion  of  disloyalty, 
she  has  already  done  so,  and  by  the  high  tariff  which  her  most 
loyal  friends  have  enacted,  she  has  developed  manufactures  of  her 
own  which  have  materially  reduced  the  sales  of  English  goods  in 
this  country.  Strange  it  is,  too,  that  the  men  who  have  thus  con- 
tributed to  shut  out  English  goods  are  now  most  anxious  on  be- 
lialf  of  the  English  manufacturers,  and  whose  loyalty  to  English 
interests  knows  no  bounds.  But  with  a  liberty  to  regulate  the  tariff 
which  England  has  granted  to  her  Colonies,  it  is  only  a  step 
further  in  the  same  direction  of  free  trade  in  which  she  herself 
preaches,  to  admit  free  the  products  of  a  neighboring  nation, 

..  .        THE  DUTY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  GOVERNMENT. 

It  is  a  simple  business  transaction.  If  the  free  admission  of 
goods  into  Canada  from  the  United  States  benefits  Canada  to  an 
extent  far  greater  than  the  discrimination  against  English  goods 
injures  the  manufacturers  of  England,  what  is  the  duty  of  the 
Government  of  England  in  the  premises  ?  Is  it  that  the  far 
greater  interests  of  the  five  millions  of  people  of  Canada  should  be 
sacrificed  for  the  limited  interest  of  the  five  hundred  thousand  of 
Manchester  or  Birmingham  ?  As  was  before  stated,  the  net  profit 
realized  by  the  English  exporter  on  the  40  millions  exported,  after  de- 
ducting bad  debts  and  other  charges,  ^mounts  to  about  ten  per  cent. ; 
so  that  the  English  manufacturer  realizes  from  Canada  about  4  mil- 
lions of  dollars  a  year.  Supposing  that  Commercial  Union  should 
result  in  a  decrease  of  one-half  of  the  importation  from  England — 
which  it  is  claimed  it  would  not  do,  but  rather  in  a  very  short  time 
largely  increase — the  total  loss  to  the  English  manufacturer  would 


IS  IT  lyCONSISTENT  WITH  BRITISH  WELFAREt 


15 


be  about  2  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  Do  you  realize  that  this  is 
about  the  amount  which  the  Canadian  farmer  loses  yearly  by  the 
duty  levied  on  the  barley  which  he  exports  ?  A  letter  in  one  of 
the  papers  last  week  showed  that  it  cost  the  farmer  at  least  2  mil- 
lions a  year  to  market  the  barley  crop  of  Canada  in  the  United 
States.  Is  it  possible  that  for  the  sake  of  so  small  a  sum  as  2  millions 
a  year,  Canada  is  to  be  forever  tied  up  in  her  present  isolated  and 
restricted  condition  ?  Why,  the  simple,  unobtrusive,  unprotected 
hens  of  Canada  bring  as  much  revenue  into  the  Dominion  as  this 
sum  amounts  to.  From  the  exportation  of  14  or  15  millions  of 
dozens  of  eggs,  upon  which  there  is  no  duty  levied  in  the  United 
States,  a  sum  very  nearly  equal  to  2  millions  is  realized.  Must  it  be 
said  that,  for  the  sake  of  a  sum  which  these  unobtrusive  little 
creatures  can  produce,  that  Canada  is  to  be  shut  out  from  the 
greatest  market  in  the  world  for  the  absorption  of  her  products  ? 
The  triumphant  cackle  of  the  fowls  in  the  barn-yard  of  every 
farmer  is  a  protest  against  such  statesmanship.  It  cannot  be  that, 
to  compensate  English  manufacturers  for  a  sum  so  insignificant, 
one-half  of  the  continent  of  North  America  is  to  remain  un- 
developed. It  would  be  better,  indeed,  for  a  subscription  to  be 
made  in  the  country,  or  for  the  government  of  the  land  to  enforce 
a  direct  taxation  to  pension  English  manufacturers,  and  all  depen- 
dent on  them,  to  the  extent  of  the  Canadian  profit,  rather  than  that 
forever  their  interests  should  interfere  with  the  vast  concerns  of 
♦^his  continent. 


A    GREAT    NEAR-BY    MARKET. 

Take  the  wide  range  of  marketable  articles  which  Canada 
produces  now,  and  can  produce  under  Commercial  Union,  and  see 
the  enormous  measure  which  their  production  would  reach,  if  a 
free  market  can  be  had  among  the  greatest  money-making,  money- 
spending  aggregation  of  humanity  that  the  world  has  ever  i.een, 
and  which  in  the  goodness  of  Providence,  is  right  at  her  doors. 
Next  to  being  possessed  of  almost  fabulous  wealth  in  the  produc- 
tive forces  of  her  agricultural  regions,  a-^d  in  her  natural  resources, 
is  the  advantage  which  an  abundant  demand  and  a  great  market 
near  by  affords  to  her.  The  range  of  an  ides  affected,  .^nd  the 
resources  to  be  developed  under  an  open  market,  are  so  important 
and  so  full  of  potentialities  of  profit,  as  to  make  the  loss  to  the 


16 


COMMERCIAL  UNION  WITH  CANADA. 


English  manufacturer  sink  into  utter  and  complete  insignificance. 
If  is  true  that  one  part  of  ihe  British  Empire  is  just  as  precious  to 
the  British  Government  as  another  part  of  it  ;  and  if  it  can  be 
shown  that  immensely  greater  profits  and  eainings  can  be  real- 
ized by  a  liberal  policy,  as  against  a  penny  saved  for  another 
part  of  the  Empire  by  a  restrictive  policy,  then  clearly  is  it  the 
duty  of  the  government  to  decide  in  favor  of  the  greatest  good 
to  the  greatest  number,  and  the  largest  profit  to  the  largest  number 
affected.  Starting  at  the  smallest  and  most  trifling  fruits  of  the 
orchard  and  of  the  garden,  through  the  barn-yard  of  the  farmer, 
in  the  eggs  and  poultry  which  the  Americans  absorb  to  such  an 
extent,  the  sheep,  horses,  and  cattle,  and  out  into  the  open  fields^ 
producing  all  the  small  grains  and  roots,  such  as  barley,  oat",  and 
potatoes,  there  is  hardly  any  article  which  the  agriculturist  of  the 
country,  on  whom  everything  now  depends,  but  would  have  an 
increased  value  and  an  increased  possibility  of  profit.  When  one 
recalls  the  fact  that  upon  the  farmer,  and  upon  the  farmer  alone, 
depends  the  success  of  Canada  in  its  present  condition,  is  it  not 
the  suprer  >st  folly  to  sacrifice  his  interests  for  a  manufacturer 
three  thousand  miles  away  ;  while  the  manufacturer  himself  would 
be  benefitted  by  the  progress  in  wealth  of  the  one  class  on  whom 
ability  to  pay  for  goods  now  imported  solely  depends  ?  But,  aside 
from  agricultural  products,  look  at  the  vast  field  of  development 
which  an  open  market  in  the  neighboring  Republic  would  give. 
The  forests  of  timber  in  Canada  are  yearly  burning  and  rotting 
away,  and  are  realizing  only  partially  the  great  profit  which  this 
source  of  wealth  might  produce  if  the  duty  against  Canadian 
lumber  did  not  exist  in  the  United  States.  The  Canadian  lumber" 
dealers  alone  could  almost  afford  to  guarantee  British  manufac- 
turers against  loss  for  the  free  admission  of  lumber  into  the  United 
States  ^ 

MARVELLOUS    MINERAL    WEALTH. 

It  is  in  the  marvellous  mineral  riches  of  the  country,  however, 
that  the  greatest  source  of  increased  wealth  would  be  found,  if  a 
development  took  place  therein,  which  it  is  believed  commercial 
union  with  the  United  States  would  promote.  Canada  is  one  of 
the  richest  countries  in  the  world  in  the  matter  of  iron,  and  yet  her 
products  thus  far  in  her  history  amount  to  a  mere  bagatelle.     It  is 


IS  IT  ly CONSISTENT  WITH  BRITISH  WELFARE  T 


» 


impossible  to  export  iron  to  England  ;  it  i>  equally  impossible  to 
export  it  with  a  profit  into  the  United  Str.tes,  so  long  as  a  high 
duty  shuts  it  out.  The  development  on  tne  south  shore  of  Lake 
Superior  within  the  United  States,  in  iron  and  copper,  is  of  ihe 
most  remarkable  character ;  has  produced  millions  upon  millions 
from  the  earth,  populated  vast  stretches  of  territory,  and  created  a 
commerce  greater  than  the  entire  transactions  between  Canada  and 
England.  The  mineral  resources  of  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Superior  are  even  richer,  and  yet  the  development  amounts  to 
nothing  whatever.  Why  is  it  that  within  British  territory 
mountains  of  iron  lay  silent,  and  dormant,  and  dead,  while  within 
American  territory  the  greatest  activity  prevails  ?  It  is  because 
there  is  a  market  for  the  product.  The  demand  for  iron  in  the 
United  States  has  increased  in  a  greater  ratio  than  the  demand  for 
any  other  article.  In  almost  every  province  of  the  Dominion 
there  is  an  abundance  of  iron.  Side  by  side  with  it  in  several 
places  is  an  abundant  supply  of  coal,  with  excellent  means  of 
transportation  lo  a  near-by  market,  with  cheap  labor,  and  every 
facility  for  mr.nufacturing.  Are  these  conditions  to  remain  forever 
unimprovea,  bcfcause  the  manufacturers  of  Manchester  and 
Birmingham  would  be  deprived  of  a  ptofit  of  2  millions  a  year? 
Are  the  richest  and  best  ponions  of  the  Continent  forever  to 
remain  a  silent  wilderness,  because  their  products  are  shut  out 
from  the  market  that  would  best  absorb  them  ?  The  duty  of  three 
cents  and  a  half  a  pound  in  the  United  States  on  copper  as  com- 
pletely shuts  out  that  product  of  Canadian  mines  as  if  a  Chinese 
wall  were  built  up  between  the  two  countries.  Break  down  that 
wall,  and  there  will  be  more  money  made  in  copper,  nickel,  and 
other  mineral  products  in  the  next  twenty-five  years,  than  would 
be  realized  in  150  years  by  English  manufacturers.  What  is  more, 
the  men  who  mine  the  copper,  the  iron,  and  the  nickel  would  be 
the  consumers  of  not  only  American  and  Canadian,  but  also  of 
English  goods.  It  is  said  that  Canada  has  97,000  square  miles  of 
coal  lands,  and  she  alone  has  coal  on  the  Atlantic  and  on  the 
Pacific  ;  yet  her  marvellous  supplies  of  this  product,  not  only  on 
both  Oceans  but  mid-way  in  the  Northwestern  Territories, 
are  shut  out  from  the  great  consumptive  markets  to  the 
south. 


18 


COMMERCIAL  UNION  WITH  CANADA. 


'     ■         i.-         •      •.      ,1      OTHER    NATIONAL    ASSETS.       ■        ■  •  •    i . 

In  the  matter  of  Canadian  fisheries,  ten  times  the  activity 
might  prevail,  and  ten  times  the  wealth  be  reaped  from  the  haivest 
of  the  sea,  if  there  was  complete  and  perfect  freedom  between  the 
great  productive  regions  of  fish  wealth  in  Canadian  waters,  com- 
prising five  thousand  miles  of  coast  line,  and  the  great  consumptive 
demand  for  it  which  could  be  created  among  the  sixty  millions  of 
people  in  the  United  States.  What  extremity  of  folly  does  it  seem 
to  be  that,  as  between  these  vast  sources  of  wealth  on  the  one  hand» 
and  an  equally  vast  absorbing  power  for  their  consumption  on  the 
other  and  profit  on  the  other,  a  trifle  should  stand  in  the  way  ?  In 
many  other  things  besides  those  enumerated  is  Canada  rich  by 
nature,  but  poor  by  policy.  The  policy  that  would  open  up  the 
markets  of  the  United  States  for  her  products,  is  that  which  will 
in  the  greatest  degree  enrich  her,  enabling  her  to  realize,  at  as  early 
a  period  as  slie  can,  from  the  enormous  riches  with  which  Providence 
has  endowed  her.  Up  to  this  period.  Canada  has  been  treated  with 
great  liberality  by  Great  Britain,  and  it  has  been  often  said  that 
had  the  colonies  in  1776  had  a  freedom  equal  to  that  which  Canada 
had  since  enjoyed,  there  would  have  been  no  justification  for  the 
American  revolution.  The  very  freedom  thus  far  enjoyed  leads  to 
the  hope  that,  while  Canada  still  heartily  desires  to  remain  a  British 
colony,  and  while  nine-tenths  of  her  people  are  still  devoted  to 
British  institutions,  there  certainly  ought  to  be  no  barrier  to  their 
full  and  complete  development  of  the  resources  of  the  country,  and 
a  perfect  enjoyment  of  the  wealth  which  they  should  produce. 


I 


NORTHWESTERN    DEVELOPMENT, 


■  r~ 


The  burden  of  taxation  which  Canada  has  voluntarily  assumed 
for  the  creation  of  great  means  of  communication,  and  the  opening 
\]p  of  vast  stretches  of  territory,  demands  that  she  should  make  the 
most  ample  provision,  not  only  for  her  own  development,  but  for 
the  creation  of  a  great  traffic.  The  English  money  which  has  been 
spent  in  the  last  ten  years  in  Canada  amounts  to  an  immense  sum. 
The  ability  to  earn  interest  on  it  rests  with  the  creation  of  a 
business  commensurate  with  the  expenditure.  The  development 
of  the  Northwestern  portions  of  Canada,  for  which  she  has  sacri- 
ficed so  much,  is  an  essential  element  to  her  progress,  and  her 


IS  IT  IS  CONSISTENT  WITH  BRITISH  WELFAUEf 


1* 


ability  to  respond  to  the  engagements  she  has  assumed.  No  one 
thing  would  contribute  in  a  greater  degree  to  the  enlargement  of 
the  population  of  the  Northwestern  Territories,  than  would  Com- 
mercial Union.  The  enormous  emigration  which  is  now  reaching 
the  shores  of  the  United  States  could  with  very  little  effort  be  di- 
verted to  a  larg*^  extent  to  these  Northwestern  Territories,  if  the 
barrier  between  the  two  countries  were  sunk  so  low  that  it  could 
hardly  be  observed,  and  if  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  and 
that  of  Canada  should  ebb  and  flow  across  this  border  line  po  free- 
ly that  its  existence  would  be  no  more  known  than  the  existence  of 
the  line  between  the  States  themselves,  or  between  the  Provinces 
themselves.  The  rich  and  fertile  plains  of  the  Red  River  and  the 
Saskatchewan,  which  this  year  have  produced  such  enormous 
results,  would  be  an  attractive  field  for  a  half  a  million  emigrants 
that  enter  the  port  of  New  York  every  year,  if  there  was  perfect 
freedom  of  communication  between  the  two  countries.  Minnesota, 
Dakota,  and  Montana  have  progressed  in  the  most  marvellous  de- 
gree, because  they  have  had  Commercial  Union  with  the  rest  of  the 
country.  Give  the  enormous  stretches  of  fertile,  productive  bnd 
in  Manitoba,  Arthabaska,  Assiniboia,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta 
the  same  freedom,  and  the  same  development  would  follow.  A 
very  short  time  would  witness  such  a  growth  in  those  regions 
as  the  world  has  never  seen,  for  their  productive  forces  are 
simply  enormous.  As  wheat  formed  the  most  important  element 
in  sustentation  of  human  life,  and  from  the  delicate  nature  of  the 
plant  is  the  truest  test  of  climatic  advantage,  by  it  should  be 
judged  the  ability  of  a  country  to  produce. 

That  a  handful  of  people  now  residing  in  Manitoba  this  year 
could  produce  a  surplus  of  twelve  millions  of  bushels  of  wheat, 
of  seven  millions  of  bushels  of  barley,  and  a  million  of  bushels 
of  potatoes,  is  a  most  marvellous  revelation  of  the  forces  that 
underlie  that  vast  region.  When  it  is  recalled  that  there  are  two 
hours  more  of  sunshine  every  day  for  the  wheat  crop  ;  that  under- 
neath, by  the  presence  of  frost,  there  is  an  exudation  of  moisture 
which  feeds  the  tender  roots  of  the  wheat  plant,  and  that  the  soil  is 
80  rich,  that  for  twenty  years  consecutive  wheat  crops  can  be  grown 
upon  it  without  rotation,  there  are  in  this  region  the  potentialities 
of  a  growth  almost  beyond  conception.  There  is  said  to  be  a  larger 
wheat  area  in  these  regions  than  in  the  whole  of  the  United  States; 


t; 


c 


|-||  m'J  i-pw* 


I        ^ 


to 


COMMERCIAL  UNION  WITH  CANADA. 


and,  according  to  Lord  Selkirk,  on  these  plains  alone  there  is 
abundant  room  and  abundant  facility  for  the  sustentation  of  30 
millions  of  people.  Is  all  this  region  to  remain  an  undeveloped 
empire  because  of  an  illiberal  policy  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment ?  A  market  could  be  created  in  this  region  for  English  manu- 
factures, Canadian  and  American  goods,  far  greater  than  that  which 
now  exists  in  the  Dominion,  A  profit  could  be  realized  by  Canada 
on  her  lands  and  on  her  investments  in  this  direction,  g^:eater  than 
by  any  other  means  ;  and  a  more  certain  development  take  place 
by  a  Commercial  Union  with  the  United  States  than  by  any  other 
event  that  could  occur.  Taxation  could  be  largely  reduced  by  ad- 
ditions to  the  population,  by  the  growth  of  wealth  in  her  agricul- 
tural, mineral,  and  other  natural  resources,  and  the  future  of  the 
country  could  be  enormously  benefitted  by  a  policy  that  would  be- 
get the  largest  development,  because  the  largest  market  was  pro- 
vided for  it. 

In  no  part  of  the  British  Empire  is  loyalty  more  pronounced  or 
more  fervent  thin  in  Canada  to  British  institutions,  pride  in  British 
traditions,  or  personal  devotion  to  the  Sovereign.  If  there  is  any  one 
sentiment  that  universally  pervades  the  Canadian  people  it  is  this 
sentiment  o^  loyal  adhesion  to  British  connection.  There  is  nothing 
in  a  business  transaction  known  as  Commercial  Union  that  will 
weaken  this  devotion  to  the  British  Empire.  But  Canada  is  a  part 
of  that  Empire,  and  her  interests  are  just  as  sacred  to  the  people  of 
this  country  as  are  the  interests  of  any  other  part  of  the  Empire 
to  the  residents  therein.  The  speaker  said  he  had  made  an  attempt 
to  show  that  the  perfect  development  of  Canada  was  not  inconsis- 
tent with  British  welfare,  and  the  more  broadly  and  closely  the 
proposed  scheme  of  Commercial  Union  is  looked  into,  the  stronger 
would  be  the  conviction  that  England  would  be  benefitted,  and  the 
interests  of  Canada  enormously  advanced.  While,  therefore,  the 
true  Canadian  who  advocated  a  commercial  bargain  with  the  United 
States  did  not  impair  British  connection,  he  indulged  in  the  senti- 
ment of  the  poet  who  said — 

' '  Such  is  the  patriot's  boast  wherever  he  may  roaiQ, 
His  first  best  country  ever  is  his  own  ! " 


